Interview: Emilio Estevez of “The Way”

Posted on February 20, 2012 at 8:00 am

I spoke to Martin Sheen when The Way opened in theaters last year. So it was a special treat to speak to the writer and director of the film about its DVD release — Emilio Estevez, Sheen’s son, who also appears briefly in the film.

I interviewed your father and, he spoke about you as a director so wonderfully that I’ve really been looking forward to talking to you about it.

All lies and half-truths, no doubt.

Your father impressed me tremendously because as he walked into the room in the hotel, before he said hello to me, he first said hello to the staff of the hotel, and was so warm and wonderful to them. I just think he’s a very special guy.

He is indeed. He is indeed. He is one of a kind.

What is the challenge of working with him as a director? He said that you were tougher on him than any other director.

Well I didn’t get him get away with his crap. You know, my dad really hasn’t had a lead in a film for quite a while, and when that happens you oftentimes think “Well, as an actor I’m only going to get this moment and I’m only going to get that moment so I better give it my all.” But I had to keep reminding him that we had an entire film to track his character. He didn’t have to give it all up in the first act. We had a long long way to go. And we needed to dole out this emotion judiciously. So, for my part, I just had to keep reminding him: “We’re not there yet, we’re not there yet, we’re not there yet.” And it it took him a while to get it. But I think it’s a it’s a really well-paced, very quietly nuanced performance that could very easily could’ve been scenery chewing. I had to keep reminding him that you’re playing a guy that is not a citizen of the world. He’ll become that. Let’s just remind ourselves that this is a guy that has two hours to evolve. And you have to trust me that, I’ll get you there.

As you were writing The Way, were there elements of your father’s ability as an actor or his personality that you wanted to bring out that you thought had not been shown in some of his previous performances?

No, not necessarily. It was a role that was so unlike who he is. This is a guy who was a curmudgeon. My dad is certainly not that. He shakes everyone’s hand. He got a nickname while we were on on tour this last year. We call him the fanstalker, which is a nickname my son came up with. If a fan didn’t get a photo he made sure that, they were acknowledged and did. So he’d go out of his way to make sure, everyone was accommodated. Meanwhile, you know of course the tour’s falling hours and days behind schedule.

Talk to me a little bit about some of the other casting. I thought you chose the other performers very well.

Deborah Kara Unger was a friend of the producer David Alexanian. I met her while I was writing the screenplay. She asked what I was working on, and just sort through a series of conversations with her, I began to to tailor the role for her, for who she is. By the time we got around to getting ready to shoot, she was available and willing to play that part. Jimmy Nesbit, uh the character of Jack, came through more conventional channels. He was somebody that an agent had pitched to the casting director in LA. I saw a film that he did called “Five Minutes of Heaven” with Liam Neesson, and I thought, “Wow, this guy’s terrific.” He and I had a couple of conversations on the phone and I said, “Listen, he’s, he’s written as a Brit but let’s play him as an Irishman. So you don’t have to affect an accent.” He said great. The role of Yorick, or the role of Joost really, played by Yorick, was a bit different. We were about eight days out from starting the film. And David. our producer. actually found five guys on the internet and said, “You’ve gotta pick one.” So we, set up a meeting to have Yorick fly in to Madrid to meet us. And, he was given the wrong information and flew to Barcelona instead. so that. It further delayed us, but he ended up sorting it out and he showed up in Madrid the first thing he said he said “Man, I’m so sorry but for what it’s worth, it wasn’t a total loss. I had the most amazing landing in Barcelona.” And I said, “I think we have our Joost.”

What have you learned from some of the directors you worked with as an actor, that helped you as a director?

I’ve been fortunate to work with some great directors and some not great directors as well. I think you learn just as much from the bad ones as you do from, from the good ones. Robert Wise was the director of “Sound of Music” and “West Side Story.” He was a friend of mine. He has a real understanding of film and film history, so he was my executive producer and my mentor in the first film that I, directed and I learned a lot from him. He was just a very generous man. And he taught me about preparation. And anticipation, and communication. Those were the three most important words that a director could ever know. Really is it is all in the prep. We spent a couple of months on the Camino, every day just preparing the hell out of this movie. And by the time we got back to shoot in late September, I knew the Camino better than most painters.

Why, is it, in in 2012 so many centuries that these journeys are still so important to us? That these old-fashioned, walk one step at a time journeys are still so important?

Aren’t they really a metaphor for life? The path to Camino — are you walking in integrity? Are you walking in truth? Isn’t it really our first instinct, after breathing, and and eating, isn’t one of our primary instincts is to, to get up on two legs? And move forward? And take that step? That’s a natural yearning, that we all have. The fact that, that people,continue to go out, and continue to do, whether it’s this pilgrimage or Mecca or any of the other pilgrimages around the globe, they are an intense mediation. An intense period of time where you are forced to look inward and we are currently living in a world that doesn’t really celebrate that. You have to fight for that. You have to fight for that time.

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Red Carpet: Drew Barrymore Comes to Town for ‘Big Miracle’

Posted on January 26, 2012 at 12:11 pm

Drew Barrymore came to Washington for the premiere of her new film, Big Miracle, about the extraordinary real-life rescue of whales stranded in Alaska in 1987. I had a blast on the red carpet, talking to the real-life characters who inspired the film as well as Barrymore, her young co-star Ahmaogak Sweeney, writers Jack Amiel and Michael Begler, and director Ken Kwapis.

It was a special treat to speak to Bonnie Carroll, who was working in the White House in 1987 when the whales were discovered and coordinated President Reagan’s involvement. She told me that when she got on the phone for the first time with the military officer overseeing the rescue, she fell in love with him as soon as she heard his voice. “I was in the West Wing and he was in Barrow, Alaska. Just hearing his voice — we both knew, and we were together from then on.” The closing credits of the movie show their real-life wedding photo. “The world came together for the whales,” she said. “My husband was the kind of leader who could make something like that happen.” The premiere last night honored the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) program she founded following the death of her husband. Bonnie and her husband are played by Vinessa Shaw and Dermot Mulroney in the film.

I also spoke to Cindy Lowry, the environmental activist who inspired the character played by Drew Barrymore in the film. They spent a lot of time together and Barrymore wanted to know everything about where she lived and even what she wore. “She’s really passionate about the things she cares about and has an appreciation for why I am so passionate about whales.” Barrymore talked about the way Lowry inspired her. “She’s willing to cross boundaries and be very forceful, but it is always in a very informed way, to articulate your point and do it with flair.”

Director Ken Kwapis: “When I read the script, what I fell in love with was the idea of a group of people with different agendas, often competing agendas, who had to figure out a way to set aside their differences and solve a problem. That’s what attracted me, this idea of unlikely collaborators who have to work together. I also fell in love with the whales! They made me cry. The fact that they were trapped in this hole. I found it very emotional. The reason to see the film is the emotional experience. There’s spectacle, there’s humor, there’s romance, there’s wonderful characters but it is really an emotion picture. Alaska was beautiful, the people were fantastic, but it was very cold and there was a dearth of daylight. I had a huge ensemble cast and many of them had never worked in front of a camera. And on top of that, we had three gigantic robotic whales that worked — most of the time! There’s something for every member of the family — a wonderful coming of age story, a romantic triangle, a lot of layers.” This was his second time working with Drew Barrymore (they did “He’s Just Not That Into You”). “I wanted someone who could be very forceful and at the same time very accessible. As strong as she is, she wears her heart on her sleeve. Audiences love her for that. ”

Amiel and Begler were writing sit-coms when they got a copy of the book about the whale rescue by journalist Tom Rose, who inspired the character played by John Krasinski. They bought the rights for $1 (Rose was paid more later when the movie went into production) and worked for 15 years to get it made. “People all showed up for their own reasons but got involved in a story that became a massive cause for them. There were oil companies and Greenpeace and the Reagan Administration and Inupiat whalers all coming together for what seemed like their own purpose and it ended up being everyone’s purpose,” Amiel said. “It was important to me to show all sides in this movie, and I think we did.”

First-time actor Ahmaogak Sweeney told me why kids should see the movie:

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Interview: Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Anthony Hemingway of ‘Red Tails’

Posted on January 19, 2012 at 8:00 am

Actor Cuba Gooding, Jr. and director Anthony Hemingway sat down with a small group of critics to talk about their new film, “Red Tails,” the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the highly decorated heroes who flew missions in the still-segregated Army of WWII. It was the dream project for producer George Lucas.

This was Gooding’s second time playing a member of this legendary group. He appeared in the 1995 made-for-cable The Tuskegee Airmen. “It’s like you’ve been researching the role for 12-15 years,” he said. “The first one was more about their training and the racism and hardships and culminated with their first intro to the war effort and the first dogfight. This was George Lucas’ passion project to display the warriorism and the heroism that are the Tuskegee Airmen in combat. So this movie opens up during the war and we meet these guys after the’ve been in training for as many months as they will actually engage in combat. This is the roller coaster ride. Some of the footage in this movie, you feel like you’re in one of those P51 cockpits when they’re flying. You feel like you’re being shot at by the German Messerschmitts. It’s everything I wanted the first one to be!”

Director Anthony Hemingway talked about putting the actors through flight training. “It was fun! To actually experience that G-force. You hear about it but you can’t really connect with it unless you go through it. We did actually fly in a real P51.” Gooding said he was inspired by classic WWII movies and by real-life heroes like General Benjamin O. Davis, the commander of the Tuskegee Airmen. That still strength that he portrayed, the way he carried himself, was what I wanted to resonate with my character and echo and mirror.”

Hemingway said the movie is very relevant today because it relates to all struggles that people face. “Seeing the obstacles that they overcame so brilliantly, the perseverance there, we can learn from that.” “Selfless sacrifice is what these guys represented and dedication to our country over themselves is something our men and women overseas today can absolutely identify with,” added Gooding. “I like to say this is my love letter to the armed forces, no matter what branch you’re in, no matter what race you are.” “It’s our salute for their service,” said Hemingway.

They had just come from the White House. “It was beautiful to see all these legacies coming together in one room,” Hemingway said. “A handful of the real airmen who flew in combat, our first black President, George Lucas. Honestly, it was a beautiful experience. We sat in the family theater in the White House and screened my first film. And we were in Houston and George and Barbara Bush were there and she walked out bawling because she was so moved by the film. They’ve asked to be able to show it to George W. and his family.” They were just as thrilled at a big premiere at the Zeigfeld theater when an elderly woman came over to introduce herself as a Tuskegee Airman. She was Nancy Colon, a nurse. “It was an all-black airbase in the segregated military so every face there was black.”

Gooding said that when he heard about the project he insisted on meeting with producer George Lucas to demonstrate his passion for the project and joked that he would be willing do do anything, even the catering for the set. Lucas warned him it would be a tough shoot, down and dirty. “I’m in!” was Gooding’s response.

I asked Hemingway about how he as a director worked to allow the acting of the combat scenes come through when the characters had their faces obscured by oxygen masks. “We took a little creative license. There are four or five action sequences in the film and in the first two I took the liberty of not using the masks to enable you to connect with the characters. Once we got there, if you didn’t know who the characters were, we failed. By then you could identify them by voice and in the casting of it, knowing from the beginning that their faces would be covered, we worked to make sure that the palette of the cast, the hues of their faces would help you easily stay connected to the story.”

Hemingway told us with tears in his eyes of the privilege he felt to present the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen. He did a great deal of research at George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch, were huge amounts of information and resources had been assembled for him, but he also went to Tuskegee to “walk in their footsteps” and see where the men had trained and where First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt made her famous visit to fly with one of the Tuskegee-trained pilots.

They spoke about what it meant to them to have four of the real Tuskegee Airmen on the set with them every day, sharing their stories and providing support and guidance. Gooding said it meant a lot to him to see the real heroes inspiring the young actors who were playing them. “The first real wow for me was when I would sleep in the car on the way to the set because we would start shooting at 5 am to get the light. I would wake up and we would be on this airbase, back in time.” Hemingway said that one of the Airmen, the late Lee Archer, lifted up his cane to point at the aircraft and said, “Get rid of all you civilians and I’ll be back in the air.” He got choked up telling Hemingway that when he was growing up everyone said they couldn’t do it. “To see the story being told meant so much to him.”

They spoke about the commitment George Lucas had to the story, putting up his own money for the feature film and for a documentary narrated by Gooding called “Double Victory.” “One of the first things Lucas told me was, ‘You focus on the story, the shooting, the acting, the I got your back on the flying.'” He’s been studying the dogfights for years and I was confident knowing the support was there.

Gooding said, “Come see the movie because it’s action/adventure and a statement and an American tale. President Obama stood in front of the screen, and we were all so emotional, and he said, ‘This is an American tale of heroism.’ That’s why people should come to this movie.”

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Red Tails Interviews: Terrence Howard, David Oyelowo, and a Real-Life Tuskegee Airman

Posted on January 18, 2012 at 8:00 am

Dr. Roscoe Brown, who flew planes as one of the heroic WWII Tuskegee Airmen, a black man defending a country still cruelly segregated, fighting in one of the most honored military divisions in American history, saw a film made about their heroic missions and last week attended the White House to meet with the first black President and First Lady of the United States. It is called “Red Tails” after the distinctive color painted on their planes. Dr. Brown, who turns 90 this year, earned a PhD, taught at NYU for 27 years, then became president of Bronx Community College, a part of the City University of New York (CUNY). Dr. Brown and three other Tuskegee Airmen were on the set throughout the filming of “Red Tails” to provide guidance and ensure authenticity. With three other critics, I spoke to Dr. Brown, director Anthony Hemingway, and actors Cuba Gooding, Jr., Terrence Howard, and David Oyelowo about the film. We loved meeting the actors, but speaking to Dr. Brown was one of the thrills of a lifetime.

“We were young people, 19, 20, 21, 22-years old,” Dr. Brown told us. “Everybody was in the military at that time. There were 15 million people in the military, 5 million blacks. So it was something you did. You knew you had to do it. You wanted to defend the country. And we felt as African-Americans, that if we did well, the larger society would recognize the stupidity of segregation and de-segregate. Which in fact happened when President Truman signed the executive order in 1948 de-segregating the military, six years ahead of the desegregation of the schools with the Brown decision. It was something that we had to do but something we wanted to do — particularly in the case of aviation because they said blacks could not do it. Whenever someone says you can’t do something, you want to do it! So we said, ‘Let’s be the best we can be.’ And that’s what this film portrays.” He worked for more than 30 years to try to get a movie made about the experiences of the Tuskegee Airmen, originally with the late director Gordon Parks. When George Lucas got involved, he brought them out to the Skywalker Ranch, where he had assembled extensive research. “We sat down in the room and talked to them about how we actually flew, how we used the stick, where we looked, how small the cockpits were — no Tuskegee Airmen were 6’5″ because you had to be small to fit in the cockpit.” It was important to him to honor those who flew, those who supported them on the ground, and those who did not come home. He spoke about the difficulty of losing someone one day and having to get up the next day, put that out of his head, and go up again and focus on the target. And he spoke about what he thought was the real message of the film: “It’s cool to be smart.”

He told us a harrowing story about the time he flew so close to a train he knocked part of the wing off and he was too low to bail out. He thought he had been hit by anti-aircraft but when they got back the ground crew pulled a piece of the train out of his wing.

The actors told us how much it meant to them to spend time with the real Tuskegee Airmen and bring their story to life. British actor David Oyelowo plays a brilliant but impulsive pilot with the call sign “Lightning.” “One of the greatest inspirations for me was getting to hang out with Dr. Roscoe Brown and the other Tuskegee Airmen. You look in their eyes and you see that glint, that can-do, that audacity that it had to have taken for them to do what they did. And George Lucas gave us a mandate when he effectively godfathered the movie. He told us, ‘We want to make a film about heroes, not victims.’ The fighter pilots are the glamor boys of any war.” He described his character as “someone who can unashamedly say, ‘I’m the best damn pilot in the whole army!’ That was my mandate for playing the character, really. “So many of the incredible things in the film, blowing up the battleship and the train, these are based on things that actually happened. When we talked to the real guys, it was like ‘Push it! We did more!'” I asked about the challenge of playing a character with so much of the face covered by the oxygen mask. “That was a frustration. One of the gratifying things was finding out that it was a frustration for you guys,” he said, turning to Dr. Brown. “They didn’t particularly like these masks, either. At one point I hint at that, ripping it away from my face. I remember talking to you and you’d say they’d get sweaty and slip. They were an encumbrance. But that’s the job of the actor. That was one challenge. Another was that we didn’t have these hundreds of planes all around us. We had to imagine that in this very controlled environment. It was a great acting exercise because it did that thing you really want as an actor, to have your imagination very active.”

Terrence Howard spoke about having to respond to the racist comments made by a superior officer (“Breaking Bad’s” Bryan Cranston) within the context of a military chain of command and as a man of the 1940’s whose entire life had been spent under segregation. “I learned something very early on. My brother said to me, ‘How do you think God views you? Does he view you as who you are today or as who you will be once His son’s blood has been poured in your behalf and you’ve had time to gain that?’ I think Colonel Bullard, who was the cinematic example of a man named Colonel Ben Davis, who went to West Point. No one spoke to him for four years. He saw them as making mistakes and immature and un-evolved in their understanding of human relationships and abilities. And so he was always able to look at the better side of people. What was beautiful, is that Cuba and I, after battling against each other in films or trying to get the same role, we actually split Benjamin Davis into two and Cuba was Benjamin on the base and I was Benjamin in Washington.” He studied the military people of today to learn how they conduct themselves. “It’s protocol. It’s respect. You see the standard and how people hold themselves, the comportment and that is passed on to you.”

They talked to us about what it was like to bring their movie to the White House. “President Obama was so cool,” said Oyelowo. “And there we were, with some of the Tuskegee Airmen, and the actors, in these rooms so laden with history, good and bad. And then having this untold story of these unsung heroes presented by the first African-American President. There was just something so right about it, and everyone was acknowledging it. It felt like a moment, the moment that the blood and DNA of Martin Luther King, of the Tuskegee Airmen, of Obama’s legacy is in that as well. On these press tours, we all have our photographs taken and we all pose with our best sexy smile. But yesterday, we were all just like this,” he said with a look of dazed bliss. He said he felt like a superhero when he saw himself in the uniform, and told us how much he loved looking through the photographs of the Tuskegee Airmen because their spirit and confidence were so evident in their poses and expressions.

They all emphasized that the story is universal. “It so far surpasses any limitation associated with the hue of any one’s skin color,” said Howard. “Every member of the family can appreciate the contribution that these men made, and the heroics of youth. They didn’t go to school to become pilots. They went to school to become lawyers and doctors. But when the call to duty came, they lent themselves. They showed excellence. They became the greatest pilots of all time. And now every human being on the planet can appreciate it because what one human being does shows us what all of us are capable of. When we see that excellence, we all share in it.” He spoke of how touched George Lucas was to come out of an early screening and see two white children pretending to be the pilots they had seen in the film.

They spoke about the parallels between the challenges faced by the Tuskegee Airmen in the 1940’s and the challenges still faced by black actors today when the subject came up of George Lucas’ difficulties in getting financing for the film. The actors were honored by the opportunity to tell the story and grateful that the heroism of the Tuskegee Airmen created an opportunity for them to do what they love to do.

“I was told by my great-great-grandfather that limitation brings about genius,” Howard said. “When you have limited resources, limited opportunity, and a limited period of time to accomplish something, that’s when the human spirit shines. It has been a difficult struggle but it has made me a much better actor. The Tuskegee Airmen were not initially wanted. They were not allowed to fly so for the first year and a half or two years they had a ton of time to practice and become perfect. By the time they were able to participate they were all seasoned pilots. That’s what happens to the black community of actors. Because we don’t have as many opportunities to play, we play amongst ourselves and get so much stronger, with so much more spirit. None of the other films I’ve done got a screening at the White House,” Howard said. “It was a long time coming and I am glad we were able to participate in it. For me, there’s a scripture in Isaiah, where he says, ‘Ten Gentiles will grab the skirt of a Jew and get into the Promised Land.’ I feel like forever David’s any my legacy will be attached to the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen. We will always be the face and the voice for their accomplishments.” Oyelowo said, “For me, it means a lot to be part of a large black cast where we’re the center of our own story and its being done on such an epic scale. I hope we can blow out of the water the idea that there can only be one — who’s the next Denzel? Who’s the next Poitier? There’s a lot of talent out there who are worthy of being given an opportunity. Like the Red Tails, we’re not looking to just do this movie and be a footnote. They went on to do extraordinary things. My hope and prayer is that we get to take advantage of this opportunity we’ve been afforded.”

“It’s a great story. All the actors were fantastic, replicating what we did,” Dr. Brown said with pride. I teased him, “And you were all that handsome, right?” “We were better looking!” That’s the Tuskegee Airmen spirit!

“As an African-American who has always been on the forefront of trying to break barriers,” Dr. Brown said, “this was another barrier to break. Hopefully everyone on America will identify with the movie, will identify with the fact that excellence overcomes prejudice, overcomes obstacles. And if we did it 65 years ago, the young people today of all backgrounds can do it now.”

Interview: Bill Duke of ‘Dark Girls,’ A Film About Race, Gender, and Skin Color

Posted on January 18, 2012 at 8:00 am

Not many people remember today that the crucial evidence in the ground-breaking Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court case was a test given to African-American children that proved there was no such thing as “separate but equal.” The children were shown white and black dolls and asked to point to “the nice doll,” “the one you’d like to play with,” and “the doll that looks bad.” The test revealed that the very fact of segregation conveyed an inescapable message of superiority.

The same test is given to a child in Dark Girls, a searing and very important new documentary from director Bill Duke (“Not Easily Broken,” “Sister Act 2”) about the last unspoken bigotry inside and outside the African-American community, based on skin tones. From the “paper bag rule” that allowed only those with skin lighter than a paper bag to join elite clubs to the debates over the portrayal of light- and dark-skinned characters in “Precious,” this continues to be so painfully divisive that it is seldom openly discussed. Duke and I shared a pot of tea by a fireplace on a cold winter afternoon as we discussed the making of the film and “the unmentionable issue that should always be mentioned.” Following sold-out shows in Atlanta and Oakland, the movie will be shown in Washington D.C. on January 20.

“It comes from issues of my childhood growing up, the way I was treated based on the darkness of my skin,” he told me. “Coming up there, observing what happened to my mother, my relatives that were darker, my sister, niece, it was just something you tolerate and learn to live with. In most families there’s a range of skin colors, not because they asked for it. That’s just the way it is. The lighter-complected children are introduced as special because they are the “pretty ones.” The darker children are loved as much, but they are introduced differently. That difference may not be spoken, but it is felt and that feeling is something that is carried with them for a lifetime, unless there is some intervention, someone who says, ‘There’s nothing wrong with you, everything is fine.’ You’re challenged on the playground: “monkey,” “darkie,” “blackie,” “tar baby,” “nappy head,” “big nose,” “gorilla face.” As odd as it sounds to say it, there’s no malice. They’re just making fun of you because you’re not normal.”

“It’s a global issue,” he went on. “There’s a $32 billion skin bleach business around the world, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Korean. We cover it from a global perspective. Even men are buying skin lighteners.”

The film covers the issue from several angles, historical, psychological, multicultural, even analysis based on quantum physics. “It deals with energy and how insane we are as a species to distinguish ourselves in differences rather than our commonalities. At the sub-atomic particle level, there is no difference but we define ourselves in terms of the differences.” He described the updating of the doll test in the movie, with a five year old black girl asked to select among dolls of different skin shades which one was pretty, and his reaction on seeing her little dark finger pointing to the white doll. I asked where standards of beauty come from. “If you’re talking about it from a business point of view, there are certain standards that are set: white or light, anorexic, something I don’t think anyone can live up to but the business of it is setting an impossible standard and then telling you we can sell you things to get you there. And then it changes. And if you have no one in your life or home who says that you are beautiful and God does not make mistakes, you will constantly be trying to meet some impossible standard.”

He told me about one interview that did not make it into the movie. A woman said she had never been in the passenger seat of a man’s car. She had dated men but always in public pretended to be their assistant or a friend. She did not think she deserved to be treated as a girlfriend. He said that for five minutes after that interview, no one spoke because her pain was so palpable and so devastating. It affects people at every level and in every profession. “Viola Davis is in our film and talks about her childhood and what she went through.”

“We don’t talk about many things that damage us. I’ve been told, ‘Don’t embarrass us.’ But children are being damaged and so we have to talk about it.” I asked him how his perspective was shaped by working in the industry that is overwhelmingly focused on conventional standards of beauty. “The media is responsible for creating some of these issues and the media can be a tool for communicating a different message. We’re not suggesting we’re going to change the world. But we are very, very concerned. You have to try to use your talents as filmmakers and producers and writers to address some of these issues.”